Methods and systems for numerology determination of wireless communication systems

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and device to obtain a basic subcarrier spacing, or a channel bandwidth, or a maximum transmission bandwidth, or a usable subcarrier spacing set via a predefined mapping rule is provided. In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine a system numerology includes determining, by the network component, one or more subcarrier spacing options from a candidate subcarrier spacing set that is associated with a carrier frequency band. The method also includes transmitting, by the network component, a signal indicating to one or more UEs one or more subcarrier spacing options from the candidate subcarrier spacing set.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/729,228, filed on Oct. 10, 2017, entitled “Methods and Systems forNumerology Determination of Wireless Communication Systems,” whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/467,937, filed onMar. 7, 2017, entitled “Methods and Systems for Numerology Determinationof Wireless Communication Systems,” and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/458,958, filed on Feb. 14, 2017, entitled “Methods and Systems forNumerology of Wireless Communication Systems,” which applications areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a numerology determination of awireless communication system.

BACKGROUND

In conventional wireless networks, fixed numerologies have been employedto allow for an ease of design. The parameters of the numerology aretypically set based on an understanding of the normal usage parametersof the network. In future networks, a more diverse set of needs shouldbe served. Future networks may operate at a variety of differentfrequencies and serve a variety of different devices. Satisfying thediverse requirements for future wireless networks, such as fifthgeneration (5G) wireless networks, may be accomplished according tomultiple approaches. In a first approach, which may be consideredbackward compatible with LTE, sampling frequencies and subcarrierfrequencies are selected as integer multiples of the samplingfrequencies and subcarrier frequencies already established for LTE. In asecond approach, which may be considered to have so-called forwardcompatibility, the sampling frequencies and subcarrier frequencies areclosely related to the sampling frequencies and subcarrier frequenciesset for LTE, but are non-integer multiples. For the first approach, thebackward compatible to LTE solution, there are two versions of thesolutions based on the number of symbols and cyclic prefix (CP) lengthsin a sub-frame or transmission time interval. First version solutionsare strictly compatible with LTE and involve using seven symbols or“7(1,6)” symbols in a sub-frame. The notation 7(1,6) represents a schemewith a first CP length for one symbol among the seven symbols and asecond CP length for the other six symbols. For strict compatibilitywith LTE, the two CP lengths and the CP overhead in the base subcarrierspacing of 15 kHz are arranged to be the same as the two CP lengths andthe CP overhead of current LTE. The second version solutions may be seenas closely compatible to LTE in the sense that their CP overhead andseven symbols in a sub-frame are the same as the CP overhead and thenumber of symbols used for current LTE, however, the symbols withdifferent CP lengths are distributed in a manner distinct from LTE,e.g., 7(3,4) and 7(2,5).

In LTE, the parameter transmission time interval (TTI) is used to referto the transmission time for a defined set of OFDM symbols. In someexamples, TTI can also be referred to as a “transmission time unit(TTU)” or “sub-frame duration”, which indicates the physical (PHY) layersymbol and frame time structure. Similar to TTI, TTU and “sub-frameduration” are each equal to the sum of the useful symbol duration andany symbol overhead such as cyclic prefix CP time for all of the OFDMsymbols include in a set. For the second approach, with so-calledforward compatibility, a flexible number of symbol configurations may beconsidered per transmission time interval (TTI). For any base SS, anynumber of symbols per TTI can be configured. This may be referred to asa discretionary N (dN) solution, based on the diverse requirements ofapplications, such as latency, control/data, TDD/FDD configurations, andco-existence, etc. As will be addressed hereinafter, the term“co-existence” relates to two or more sub-bands in use for a givenconnection employing compatible numerologies.

In LTE, a channel bandwidth and a transmission bandwidth are defined,where the channel bandwidth is defined as the bandwidth of a carrierwhile the transmission bandwidth is defined as the number of availableRB (Resource Block) in the carrier. In LTE, since RBs with differentsubcarrier spacing occupy same bandwidth, the transmission bandwidth canapply to all subcarrier spacing.

However, in New Radio (NR), 12, the number of subcarriers, is same forall RBs with different subcarrier spacing. Hence subcarrier spacing setssuitable for different channel bandwidth are different. Then it shouldbe determined for the relationships among channel bandwidth,transmission bandwidth and subcarrier spacing.

In LTE, the channel bandwidth includes a useful transmission bandwidthand guide band, where the guide band is about 10% of the channelbandwidth for sub-6 GHz bands. In NR, the higher spectrum efficiency canbe achieved, where that the guide band can be reduced significantly oreven can be removed, for example, 1% of the channel bandwidth can beused for guide band.

To determine a channel bandwidth for a given subcarrier spacing, thenumber of the subcarriers used in the channel bandwidth should beconstrained by the reasonable implementation costs, for example, FFTsize or sampling rate. As a result, the maximum channel bandwidth forthe given subcarrier spacing, and the available maximum channelbandwidths are different for different subcarrier spacing options.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine systemnumerology and channel bandwidth includes determining, by the networkcomponent, one or more subcarrier spacing options from a candidatesubcarrier spacing set that is associated with a carrier frequency band.The method also includes transmitting, by the network component, asignal indicating to one or more UEs one or more subcarrier spacingoptions from the candidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an embodiment, a wireless device for determine system numerology andchannel bandwidth includes a processor; and a computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the processor. Theprogramming includes instructions for determining one or more subcarrierspacing options from a candidate subcarrier spacing set that isassociated with a carrier frequency band. The programming also includesinstructions for transmitting a signal indicating to one or more UEs oneor more subcarrier spacing options from the candidate subcarrier spacingset.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions for instructing a wireless device to determinesystem numerology and channel bandwidth, that when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to perform determiningone or more subcarrier spacing options from a candidate subcarrierspacing set that is associated with a carrier frequency band. Theinstructions, when executed by one or more processors, also cause theone or more processors to perform transmitting a signal indicating toone or more UEs one or more subcarrier spacing options from thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine systemnumerology and channel bandwidth includes determining, by the networkcomponent, one or more channel bandwidths selected from a set of channelbandwidths. The method also includes transmitting, by the networkcomponent, a signal indicating the one or more channel bandwidths.

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine systemnumerology and channel bandwidth includes acquiring, by the networkcomponent, a candidate subcarrier spacing set. The method also includesdetermining, by the network component, a maximum channel bandwidth or amaximum transmission bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a wireless device for encoding data with a polar codea processor and a computer readable storage medium storing programmingfor execution by the processor. The programming includes instructionsfor acquiring a candidate subcarrier spacing set. The programming alsoincludes instructions for determining a maximum channel bandwidth or amaximum transmission bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions for instructing a wireless device to encode datawith a polar code is provided. When executed by one or more processors,programming cause the one or more processors to perform acquiring acandidate subcarrier spacing set. When executed by one or moreprocessors, the programming also cause the one or more processors toperform determining a maximum channel bandwidth or a maximumtransmission bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes determining, by thenetwork component, one or more channel bandwidths selected from a set ofchannel bandwidths. The method also includes transmitting, by thenetwork component, a signal indicating the one or more channelbandwidths

In one or more aspects, the channel bandwidth is one of a sub 6 GHz bandor an above 6 GHz band.

In one or more aspects, a candidate subcarrier spacing set associatedwith a carrier frequency band is pre-defined and preconfigured by thenetwork.

In one or more aspects, transmitting the signal comprises one ofsemi-static signaling and dynamic signaling.

In one or more aspects, the transmitting the signal comprises one of antransmitting a radio resource control (RRC) signal and transmitting alayer 1 (L1) signal.

In one or more aspects, the transmitting the signal comprises one oftransmitting a broadcast message, a multi-cast message, and a uni-castmessage.

In one or more aspects, the method includes determining a maximumchannel bandwidth or a maximum transmission bandwidth according to thecarrier frequency band.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes, before the determiningthe maximum channel bandwidth or the maximum transmission bandwidth,determining, by the network component, a basic subcarrier spacing in thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In one or more aspects, the maximum transmission bandwidth isdetermined, by the network component, in accordance with the maximumchannel bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the maximum channel bandwidth is determined, bythe network component, in accordance with a maximum fast Fouriertransform (FFT) size for a given subcarrier spacing.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes acquiring, by thenetwork component, a usable subcarrier spacing set from the subcarrierspacing set in accordance with a carrier frequency band

In one or more aspects, the transmission bandwidth location isdetermined according to a number of resource blocks (RBs) in the carrierfrequency band and a reference point.

In one or more aspects, each usable subcarrier spacing set is associatedwith FFT sizes such that a same sampling rate is maintained overdifferent usable scalable subcarrier spacing (SCS) options applicable toa given channel bandwidth.

In some embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods have a number ofadvantages. For example, the disclosed methods may provide one way ofdetermining the subcarrier spacing options that are associated with thechannel or transmissions bandwidths in a frequency band, and determiningthe relationship of sampling rate/maximum FFT size associated with anumber of used subcarriers in a frequency bandwidth, such that thesystem can have efficient operations and super performance withreasonable implementation complexity.

Other aspects and features of embodiments of the present disclosure willbecome apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review ofthe following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a communication system.

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary wireless communication device.

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary base station.

FIG. 3 shows an example of present transmission bandwidth configuration.

FIG. 4A shows an example of the maximum channel bandwidth depending onSCS sets.

FIG. 4B shows an example tabulated scheme to determine a channelbandwidth based on a subcarrier spacing and the number of subcarriers(or RBs).

FIG. 4C shows an example of the maximum channel bandwidth depending onbasic SCS.

FIG. 5A shows an example of the transmission bandwidth depending on SCSsets.

FIG. 5B shows an example of the transmission bandwidth depending onbasic SCS.

FIG. 6A shows an example of SCS associated with channel bandwidth basedon maximum FFT size.

FIG. 6B shows an example of system channel bandwidth associated withusable SCS.

FIG. 6C shows an example of system channel bandwidth associated withusable SCS and FFT size.

FIG. 6D shows an example of the carrier bandwidths (b/ws) for given SCSoptions to support the maximum number of subcarriers per NR carrier is3300 or 6600.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 700 fornumerology determination for wireless communication systems

FIG. 8 shows an example of a computing system.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a wireless communication device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure areprovided below, the disclosed systems and/or methods may be implementedusing any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence.The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrativeimplementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, includingthe exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and describedherein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claimsalong with their full scope of equivalents.

Disclosed herein are methods and devices to obtain a basic subcarrierspacing, or a channel bandwidth, or a maximum transmission bandwidth, ora usable subcarrier spacing set via predefined mapping rule.

Also disclosed herein are methods and systems for providing an OFDMnumerology scheme in a communications system permitting one or more ofmultiple subcarrier spacing options, multiple transmission TTI options,multiple CP options, multiple carrier bandwidth options, or multiple FFTsizes.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, a method to obtainthe maximum channel bandwidth and/or maximum transmission bandwidth fromsubcarrier spacing set is provided via a mapping rule.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method to obtain themaximum channel bandwidth and/or maximum transmission bandwidth from abasic subcarrier spacing is provided via a mapping rule.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method to obtain themaximum transmission bandwidth from the maximum channel bandwidth isprovided via a mapping rule.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method to obtain thechannel bandwidth from subcarrier spacing set and maximum FFT size isprovided via a mapping rule.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method to obtain theusable subcarrier spacing set from a system channel bandwidth isprovided via a mapping rule.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless device isprovided to implement all embodiments for the methods to obtain at leastone of the following parameters: basic subcarrier spacing, channelbandwidth, maximum transmission bandwidth, or usable subcarrier spacingset.

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine systemnumerology and channel bandwidth includes determining, by the networkcomponent, one or more subcarrier spacing options from a candidatesubcarrier spacing set that is associated with a carrier frequency band.The method also includes transmitting, by the network component, asignal indicating to one or more UEs one or more subcarrier spacingoptions from the candidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an embodiment, a wireless device for determining system numerologyand channel bandwidth includes a processor; and a computer readablestorage medium storing programming for execution by the processor. Theprogramming includes instructions for determining one or more subcarrierspacing options from a candidate subcarrier spacing set that isassociated with a carrier frequency band. The programming also includesinstructions for transmitting a signal indicating to one or more UEs oneor more subcarrier spacing options from the candidate subcarrier spacingset.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions for instructing a wireless device to determinesystem numerology and channel bandwidth, that when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to perform determiningone or more subcarrier spacing options from a candidate subcarrierspacing set that is associated with a carrier frequency band. Theinstructions, when executed by one or more processors, also cause theone or more processors to perform transmitting a signal indicating toone or more UEs one or more subcarrier spacing options from thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine systemnumerology and channel bandwidth includes determining, by the networkcomponent, one or more channel bandwidths selected from a set of channelbandwidths. The method also includes transmitting, by the networkcomponent, a signal indicating the one or more channel bandwidths.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes determining, by thenetwork component, one or more channel bandwidths selected from a set ofchannel bandwidths. The method also includes transmitting, by thenetwork component, a signal indicating the one or more channelbandwidths

In one or more aspects, the channel bandwidth is one of a sub 6 GHz bandor an above 6 GHz band.

In one or more aspects, a candidate subcarrier spacing set associatedwith a carrier frequency band is pre-defined and preconfigured by thenetwork.

In one or more aspects, transmitting the signal comprises one ofsemi-static signaling and dynamic signaling.

In one or more aspects, the transmitting the signal comprises one of antransmitting a radio resource control (RRC) signal and transmitting alayer 1 (L1) signal.

In one or more aspects, the transmitting the signal comprises one oftransmitting a broadcast message, a multi-cast message, and a uni-castmessage.

In one or more aspects, the method includes determining a maximumchannel bandwidth or a maximum transmission bandwidth according to thecarrier frequency band.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes, before the determiningthe maximum channel bandwidth or the maximum transmission bandwidth,determining, by the network component, a basic subcarrier spacing in thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In one or more aspects, the maximum transmission bandwidth isdetermined, by the network component, in accordance with the maximumchannel bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the maximum channel bandwidth is determined, bythe network component, in accordance with a maximum fast Fouriertransform (FFT) size for a given subcarrier spacing.

In one or more aspects, the method also includes acquiring, by thenetwork component, a usable subcarrier spacing set from the subcarrierspacing set in accordance with a carrier frequency band

In one or more aspects, the transmission bandwidth location isdetermined according to a number of resource blocks (RBs) in the carrierfrequency band and a reference point.

In one or more aspects, each usable subcarrier spacing set is associatedwith FFT sizes such that a same sampling rate is maintained overdifferent usable scalable subcarrier spacing (SCS) options applicable toa given channel bandwidth.

Frame structures have been proposed that are flexible in terms of theuse of differing numerologies. A numerology is defined as the set ofphysical layer parameters of the air interface that are used tocommunicate a particular signal. A numerology is described in terms ofat least subcarrier spacing and OFDM symbol duration, and may also bedefined by other parameters such as fast Fourier transform (FFT)/inverseFFT (IFFT) length, transmission time slot length, and cyclic prefix (CP)length or duration. In some implementations, the definition of thenumerology may also include which one of several candidate waveforms isused to communicate the signal. Possible waveform candidates mayinclude, but are not limited to, one or more orthogonal ornon-orthogonal waveforms selected from the following: OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Filtered OFDM (f-OFDM), FilterBank Multicarrier (FBMC), Universal Filtered Multicarrier (UFMC),Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM), Single CarrierFrequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), Low Density SignatureMulticarrier Code Division Multiple Access (LDS-MC-CDMA), Wavelet PacketModulation (WPM), Faster Than Nyquist (FTN) Waveform, low Peak toAverage Power Ratio Waveform (low PAPR WF), Pattern Division MultipleAccess (PDMA), Lattice Partition Multiple Access (LPMA), Resource SpreadMultiple Access (RSMA), and Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA).

These numerologies may be scalable in the sense that subcarrier spacingsof different numerologies are multiples of each other, and time slotlengths of different numerologies are also multiples of each other. Sucha scalable design across multiple numerologies provides implementationbenefits, for example scalable total OFDM symbol duration in a timedivision duplex (TDD) context.

Table 1 below shows the parameters associated with some examplenumerologies, in the four columns under “Frame structure”. Frames can beconfigured using one or a combination of the four scalable numerologies.For comparison purposes, in the right hand column of the table, theconventional fixed LTE numerology is shown. The first column is for anumerology with 60 kHz subcarrier spacing, which also has the shortestOFDM symbol duration because OFDM symbol duration varies inversely withsubcarrier spacing. This may be suitable for ultra-low latencycommunications, such as Vehicle-to-Any (V2X) communications. The secondcolumn is for a numerology with 30 kHz subcarrier spacing. The thirdcolumn is for a numerology with 15 kHz subcarrier spacing. Thisnumerology has the same configuration as in LTE, except there are only 7symbols in a time slot. This may be suitable for broadband services. Thefourth column is for a numerology with 7.5 kHz spacing, which also hasthe longest OFDM symbol duration among the four numerologies. This maybe useful for coverage enhancement and broadcasting. Additional uses forthese numerologies will be or become apparent to persons of ordinaryskill in the art. Of the four numerologies listed, those with 30 kHz and60 kHz subcarrier spacings are more robust to Doppler spreading (fastmoving conditions), because of the wider subcarrier spacing. It isfurther contemplated that different numerologies may use differentvalues for other physical layer parameters, such as the same subcarrierspacing and different cyclic prefix lengths.

It is further contemplated that other subcarrier spacings may be used,such as higher or lower subcarrier spacings. As illustrated in theexample above, the subcarrier spacing of each numerology (7.5 kHz, 15kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz) can be a factor of 2^(n) times the smallestsubcarrier spacing, where n is an integer. Larger subcarrier spacingsthat are also related by a factor of 2^(n), such as 120 kHz, may also oralternatively be used. Smaller subcarrier spacings that are also relatedby a factor of 2^(n), such as 3.75 kHz, may also or alternatively beused. The symbol durations of the numerologies may also be related by afactor of 2^(n). Two or more numerologies that are related in this wayare sometimes referred to as scalable numerologies.

In other examples, a more limited scalability may be implemented, inwhich two or more numerologies all have subcarrier spacings that areinteger multiples of the smallest subcarrier spacing, withoutnecessarily being related by a factor of 2^(n). Examples include 15 kHz,30 kHz, 45 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz subcarrier spacings.

In still other examples, non-scalable subcarrier spacings may be used,which are not all integer multiples of the smallest subcarrier spacing,such as 15 kHz, 20 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz.

In Table 1, each numerology uses a first cyclic prefix length for afirst number of OFDM symbols, and a second cyclic prefix length for asecond number of OFDM symbols. For example, in the first column under“Frame structure”, the time slot includes 3 symbols with a cyclic prefixlength of 1.04 μs followed by 4 symbols with a cyclic prefix length of1.3 μs.

TABLE 1 Example set of Numerologies Baseline Parameters Frame structure(LTE) time slot 0.125 ms 0.25 ms 0.5 ms 1 ms TTI = 1 ms LengthSubcarrier 60 kHz 30 kHz 15 kHz 7.5 kHz 15 kHz spacing FFT size 512 10242048 4096 2048 Symbol 16.67 μs 33.33 μs 66.67 μs 133.33 μs 66.67 μsduration #symbols in 7 (3, 4) 7 (3, 4) 7 (3, 4) 7 (3, 4) 14 (2, 12) eachtime slot CP length 1.04 μs, 1.30 μs 2.08 μs, 2.60 μs 4.17 μs, 5.21 μs8.33 μs, 10.42 μs 5.2 μs, 4.7 μs (32,40 point) (64,80 point) (128,160point) (256,320 point) (160,144 point) CP overhead 6.67% 6.67% 6.67%6.67% 6.67% BW (MHz) 20 20 20 20 20

In Table 2, an example set of numerologies is shown, in which differentcyclic prefix lengths can be used in different numerologies having thesame subcarrier spacing.

TABLE 2 Example numerology with different CP lengths Subcarrier spacing(kHz) 15 30 30 60 60 60 Useful duration T_(u) (μs) 66.67 33.33 33.3316.67 16.67 16.67 CP length (μs) (1) 5.2 5.73 2.6 2.86 1.3 3.65 CPlength (μs) (6 or 12) 4.7 5.08 2.34 2.54 1.17 3.13 # of symbols per TTI7(1, 6) 13(1, 12) 7(1, 6) 13(1, 12) 7(1, 6) 25(10, 15) TTI (ms) 0.5 0.50.25 0.25 0.125 0.5 CP overhead 6.70% 13.30% 6.70% 13.30% 6.70% 16.67%

It should be understood that the specific numerologies of the examplesof Tables 1 and 2 are for illustration purposes, and that a flexibleframe structure combining other numerologies can alternatively beemployed.

OFDM-based signals can be employed to transmit a signal in whichmultiple numerologies coexist simultaneously. More specifically,multiple sub-band OFDM signals can be generated in parallel, each withina different sub-band, and each sub-band having a different subcarrierspacing (and more generally with a different numerology). The multiplesub-band signals are combined into a single signal for transmission, forexample for downlink transmissions. Alternatively, the multiple sub-bandsignals may be transmitted from separate transmitters, for example foruplink transmissions from multiple electronic devices (EDs), which maybe user equipment (UEs). In a specific example, filtered OFDM (f-OFDM)can be employed by using filtering to shape the frequency spectrum ofeach sub-band OFDM signal, thereby producing a frequency localizedwaveform, and then combining the sub-band OFDM signals for transmission.f-OFDM lowers out-of-band emission and improves transmission, andaddresses the non-orthogonality introduced as a result of the use ofdifferent subcarrier spacings. Alternatively, a different approach canbe used to achieve a frequency localized waveform, such as windowed OFDM(W-OFDM).

The use of different numerologies can allow the coexistence of a diverseset of use cases having a wide range quality of service (QoS)requirements, such as different levels of latency or reliabilitytolerance, as well as different bandwidth or signaling overheadrequirements. In one example, the base station can signal to the ED anindex representing a selected numerology, or a single parameter (e.g.,subcarrier spacing) of the selected numerology. The signaling can bedone in a dynamic or a semi-static manner, for example in a controlchannel such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or groupcommon PDCCH, or in downlink control information (DCI). Other signalingoptions include a media access control (MAC) control element (CE)message, RRC message, broadcast or multi-cast signal. Based on thissignaling, the ED may determine the parameters of the selectednumerology from other information, such as a look-up table of candidatenumerologies stored in memory.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication system 100. In general, thesystem 100 enables multiple wireless or wired users to transmit andreceive data and other content. The system 100 may implement one or morechannel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA),time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access(FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), or single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA).

In this example, the communication system 100 includes electronicdevices (ED) 110 a-110 c, radio access networks (RANs) 120 a-120 b, acore network 130, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 140, theInternet 150, and other networks 160. While certain numbers of thesecomponents or elements are shown in FIG. 1, any number of thesecomponents or elements may be included in the system 100.

The EDs 110 a-110 c are configured to operate and/or communicate in thesystem 100. For example, the EDs 110 a-110 c are configured to transmitand/or receive via wireless or wired communication channels. Each ED 110a-110 c represents any suitable end user device and may include suchdevices (or may be referred to) as a user equipment/device (UE),wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), mobile station, fixed or mobilesubscriber unit, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA),smartphone, laptop, computer, touchpad, wireless sensor, or consumerelectronics device.

The RANs 120 a-120 b here include base stations 170 a-170 b,respectively. Each base station 170 a-170 b is configured to wirelesslyinterface with one or more of the EDs 110 a-110 c to enable access tothe core network 130, the PSTN 140, the Internet 150, and/or the othernetworks 160. For example, the base stations 170 a-170 b may include (orbe) one or more of several well-known devices, such as a basetransceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NodeB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB),a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), ora wireless router. The EDs 110 a-110 c are configured to interface andcommunicate with the internet 150 and may access the core network 130,the PSTN 140, and/or the other networks 160.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the base station 170 a forms part ofthe RAN 120 a, which may include other base stations, elements, and/ordevices. Also, the base station 170 b forms part of the RAN 120 b, whichmay include other base stations, elements, and/or devices. Each basestation 170 a-170 b operates to transmit and/or receive wireless signalswithin a particular geographic region or area, sometimes referred to asa “cell.” In some embodiments, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)technology may be employed having multiple transceivers for each cell.

The base stations 170 a-170 b communicate with one or more of the EDs110 a-110 c over one or more air interfaces 190 using wirelesscommunication links. The air interfaces 190 may utilize any suitableradio access technology.

It is contemplated that the system 100 may use multiple channel accessfunctionality, including such schemes as described above. In particularembodiments, the base stations and EDs implement LTE, LTE-A, and/orLTE-B. Of course, other multiple access schemes and wireless protocolsmay be utilized.

The RANs 120 a-120 b are in communication with the core network 130 toprovide the EDs 110 a-110 c with voice, data, application, Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP), or other services. Understandably, the RANs120 a-120 b and/or the core network 130 may be in direct or indirectcommunication with one or more other RANs (not shown). The core network130 may also serve as a gateway access for other networks (such as thePSTN 140, the Internet 150, and the other networks 160). In addition,some or all of the EDs 110 a-110 c may include functionality forcommunicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks using different wireless technologies and/or protocols. Instead ofwireless communication (or in addition thereto), the EDs may communicatevia wired communication channels to a service provider or switch (notshown), and to the internet 150.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a communication system,various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the communicationsystem 100 could include any number of EDs, base stations, networks, orother components in any suitable configuration.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate example devices that may implement themethods and teachings according to this disclosure. In particular, FIG.2A illustrates an example ED 110, and FIG. 2B illustrates an examplebase station 170. These components could be used in the system 100 or inany other suitable system.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the ED 110 includes at least one processing unit200. The processing unit 200 implements various processing operations ofthe ED 110. For example, the processing unit 200 could perform signalcoding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, or anyother functionality enabling the ED 110 to operate in the system 100.The processing unit 200 also supports the methods and teachingsdescribed in more detail above. Each processing unit 200 includes anysuitable processing or computing device configured to perform one ormore operations. Each processing unit 200 could, for example, include amicroprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, fieldprogrammable gate array, or application specific integrated circuit.

The ED 110 also includes at least one transceiver 202. The transceiver202 is configured to modulate data or other content for transmission byat least one antenna or NIC (Network Interface Controller) 204. Thetransceiver 202 is also configured to demodulate data or other contentreceived by the at least one antenna 204. Each transceiver 202 includesany suitable structure for generating signals for wireless or wiredtransmission and/or processing signals received wirelessly or by wire.Each antenna 204 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and/orreceiving wireless or wired signals. One or multiple transceivers 202could be used in the ED 110, and one or multiple antennas 204 could beused in the ED 110. Although shown as a single functional unit, atransceiver 202 could also be implemented using at least one transmitterand at least one separate receiver.

The ED 110 further includes one or more input/output devices 206 orinterfaces (such as a wired interface to the internet 150). Theinput/output devices 206 facilitate interaction with a user or otherdevices (network communications) in the network. Each input/outputdevice 206 includes any suitable structure for providing information toor receiving/providing information from a user, such as a speaker,microphone, keypad, keyboard, display, or touch screen, includingnetwork interface communications.

In addition, the ED 110 includes at least one memory 208. The memory 208stores instructions and data used, generated, or collected by the ED110. For example, the memory 208 could store software or firmwareinstructions executed by the processing unit(s) 200 and data used toreduce or eliminate interference in incoming signals. Each memory 208includes any suitable volatile and/or non-volatile storage and retrievaldevice(s). Any suitable type of memory may be used, such as randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), hard disk, optical disc,subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory stick, secure digital (SD)memory card, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the base station 170 includes at least oneprocessing unit 250, at least one transceiver 252, which includesfunctionality for a transmitter and a receiver, one or more antennas256, at least one memory 258, and one or more input/output devices orinterfaces 266. A scheduler 253, which would be understood by oneskilled in the art, is coupled to the processing unit 250. The scheduler253 could be included within or operated separately from the basestation 170. The processing unit 250 implements various processingoperations of the base station 170, such as signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, or any otherfunctionality. The processing unit 250 can also support the methods andteachings described in more detail above. Each processing unit 250includes any suitable processing or computing device configured toperform one or more operations. Each processing unit 250 could, forexample, include a microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signalprocessor, field programmable gate array, or application specificintegrated circuit.

Each transceiver 252 includes any suitable structure for generatingsignals for wireless or wired transmission to one or more EDs or otherdevices. Each transceiver 252 further includes any suitable structurefor processing signals received wirelessly or by wire from one or moreEDs or other devices. Although shown combined as a transceiver 252, atransmitter and a receiver could be separate components. Each antenna256 includes any suitable structure for transmitting and/or receivingwireless or wired signals. While a common antenna 256 is shown here asbeing coupled to the transceiver 252, one or more antennas 256 could becoupled to the transceiver(s) 252, allowing separate antennas 256 to becoupled to the transmitter and the receiver if equipped as separatecomponents. Each memory 258 includes any suitable volatile and/ornon-volatile storage and retrieval device(s). Each input/output device266 facilitates interaction with a user or other devices (networkcommunications) in the network. Each input/output device 266 includesany suitable structure for providing information to orreceiving/providing information from a user, including network interfacecommunications.

FIG. 3 is a table 300 that illustrates an example of presenttransmission bandwidth (BW) configuration NRB (number of RB) in E-UTRAchannel bandwidths.

In example aspects, for backward and forward compatibility solutions,the design methodology and criteria are as follows: for any basesubcarrier spacing (15 kHz, 16.875 kHz, 17.5 kHz, 22.5 kHz, 16.5 kHz,etc.), the integer scalable subcarrier spacing (SCS) values have aninversely scalable relationship over the CPs for a given CP overhead.Moreover, the integer scalable SCS values have an inversely scalablerelationship over both CPs and TTIs for a given number of symbols andgiven CP overhead. Larger Ills can be concatenated by smaller TTIs,where a minimum TTI (or basic TTI unit) consists of the minimum numberof symbols that is valid for implementation configurable in the TTI insuch base subcarrier spacing. For one example, a scheme using 15 kHzsubcarrier spacing is valid with seven symbols per TTI to make thescheme backward compatible to LTE. For another example, a scheme using16.875 kHz subcarrier spacing is valid with one symbol per TTI for theimplementation. The parameter (e.g., SS, TTI, CP) configurations arebased on the diverse requirements of applications, such as latency,control/data, TDD/FDD configurations, and co-existence, etc.

In example aspects, a communications network is provided that employs anOFDM transmission system in which the OFDM transmission parameters, suchas subcarrier spacing parameter, can be configured to accommodate fordifferent requests that may be placed on the network. Such requests maybe related to factors such as speed of user equipment (UE), use of highfrequency bands, or use of low cost, narrowly spaced frequency bandwidthcommunications devices. In this regard, OFDM numerology schemes aredescribed herein that can be applied to radio frame structures for bothFDD and TDD modes in a wireless network. Conveniently, the OFDMnumerology schemes permit one or more of: multiple subcarrier spacingoptions; multiple transmission time interval (TTI) options; multiplecyclic prefix (CP) options; multiple carrier bandwidth options; andmultiple fast Fourier Transform (FFT) sizes. Accordingly, the OFDMnumerology schemes may be flexible enough to satisfy differentrequirements that may arise in the wireless network.

Example aspects are described herein in which the parameters of aFiltered OFDM (F-OFDM) system may, in at least some applications, beconfigurable to support multiple waveforms, multiple access schemes andmultiple frame structures, thereby accommodating a range of applicationscenarios and service requirements. By way of example, FIG. 3illustrates an F-OFDM time-frequency signal plot illustrating theapplication of three sub-band filters to create OFDM subcarriergroupings with three different inter-sub-carrier spacings, OFDM symboldurations and guard periods. By enabling multiple parameterconfigurations, F-OFDM can, in at least some applications, allow for theoptimal selection of parameters for each service group and, thus, mayfacilitate overall system efficiency.

In example aspects, the OFDM numerology with scalable features aredesigned with TTIs that are linearly and inversely scaled withsubcarrier spacing options to maintain a limited set of samplingfrequencies for different FFT sizes. In some applications, such aconfiguration may reduce the complexity of the network interface used incommunications equipment—for example, chipset implementation complexityin receiving devices may be reduced. In some example aspects, optimizedCP and TTI schemes are provided to achieve one-for-all applications foreach subcarrier spacing option.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C show tables 400, 405, 410 that illustrate SCS setfor channel bandwidth, a channel bandwidth determination, and basic SCSand maximum channel BW, respectively. The available maximum channelbandwidth in different bands are different, e.g., 100 MHz for sub 6 GHzand 400 MHz for above 6 GHz. Candidate SCS (SubCarrier Spacing) set isdifferent for different bands, e.g., {15, 30, 60} kHz for 3.5 GHz, {30,60, 120} kHz for 6 GHz, {60, 120, 240} kHz for 28 GHz, and {240, 480}kHz for 70 GHz. As a result, the selection of subcarrier spacing optionsdepends on what frequency band (e.g., sub 6 GHz or above 6 GHz), and themaximum bandwidths in different bands are different (e.g., 100 MHz forsub 6 GHz and 400 MHz for higher frequency band). One example aspect isshown in FIG. 4A, where the maximum channel bandwidth is defined basedon different SCS sets. As a result, the channel bandwidth ortransmission bandwidth (in which the guide bands are excluded from thechannel bandwidth, if any) is associated with a carrier band (e.g., 6GHz), numerology (including subcarrier spacing and CP) and the number ofsubcarriers, where the maximum number of subcarriers per channelbandwidth will be constrained by maximum FFT size (e.g., 4096), and asubcarrier spacing option or a subcarrier spacing set will be based on acarrier frequency band. In some embodiment, a subcarrier spacing (SCS)option can be chosen from a subcarrier spacing option set that isassociated with and pre-defined for a carrier frequency band, where theSCS selection may be based on certain considerations such as applicationrequirements, mobility, timing synchronization, and/or propagationenvironment, etc. In a network, one or more carrier frequency bands canbe included, so the associated numerology/subcarrier spacing sets can bedetermined accordingly; the network will configure one or moresubcarrier spacing options for each carrier frequency band.

The subcarrier spacing option set associated with a carrier frequencyband can be defined in a form of table where each SCS can use an indexto be indicated in the signaling messages from the base station; or thebase station can send the configuration and pre-configuration signalingdescribing the table. The configuration of a subcarrier spacing, achannel bandwidth and/or the association table can be performed bydifferent schemes, for example, broadcast, multicast, and/or uni-castchannel; or semi-static (radio resource control (RRC) signaling or witha MAC CE), dynamic signaling (e.g., layer 1 (L1) or downlink controlinformation (DCI) signaling) and/or a downlink (DL) control channel suchas group common PDCCH.

The network configures one or more subcarrier spacing options based onor associated with a carrier frequency band, where the carrier frequencyband can be, e.g., 1.8 GHz, 2.4 GHz, or 35 GHz, or 75 GHz band. A sub 6GHz band is used to describe one if the carrier frequency band is below6 GHz, while the above 6 GHz band is used to describe one if the carrierfrequency band is above 6 GHz. Within each carrier frequency band, achannel bandwidth consists of a transmission bandwidth and a guide band(if any, for example 10% of the channel bandwidth can be a guide band inLTE). A channel bandwidth is based on a subcarrier spacing and thenumber of subcarriers or RBs used, where the maximum of channelbandwidth is depending on the maximum number of subcarriers used (e.g.,<maximum FFT size). Due to the fact that there are numerical channelbandwidths possible, depending on number of subcarriers/RBs for anygiven numerology, usually only a few channel bandwidth options can bedefined, such as 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20 MHz, 50 MHz, 100 MHz for sub 6 GHzband. One numerology will include parameters of at least subcarrierspacing and CP overhead.

Thus, for a given numerology, a channel bandwidth may be determined bythe number of subcarriers or the number resource blocks (RBs) used and(optionally) guide band in the channel bandwidth; for example, with a10% guide band, 5 MHz channel bandwidth can be constructed by 15 KHzsubcarriers with 25 RBs; and the transmission bandwidth can bedetermined once the (optional) guide band location isdetermined/configured in the channel bandwidth. The guide bandconfiguration (if any) can be included in the signaling described in theabove paragraph. It is noted that a channel bandwidth is usually smallerthan the maximum channel bandwidth in a given carrier frequency band,and this is considered based on a few factors, for example, to supportco-existence with LTE and UE maximum bandwidth processing capability,and to consider the actual bandwidth requirements in an application orservice, etc. A tabulated scheme to determine a channel bandwidth basedon a subcarrier spacing and the number of subcarriers (or RBs) is givenin FIG. 4B.

FIG. 4C provides an example aspect where a basic SCS is defined for eachSCS set and the maximum channel bandwidth is mapped from the basic SCS.The basic SCS applies for most of scenarios and services. For example,in an SCS set {15, 30, 60} kHz, SCS of 30 kHz in 3.5 GHz applies to mostof eMBB users, SCS of 15 kHz applies to low speed and large delay spreadscenarios, and SCS of 60 kHz applies to high Doppler and URLLCscenarios. Hence the 30 kHz can be the basic SCS for the SCS set {15,30, 60} kHz. The maximum channel bandwidth can be defined based on thebasic SCS and maximum FFT size. In FIG. 4C, the maximum FFT size is 2048as an example.

When maximum channel bandwidth is determined, e.g. from the examples ofFIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, FIG. 4C, the maximum transmission bandwidth can bedetermined accordingly. With predefined rule, the maximum channelbandwidth and maximum transmission bandwidth can also be obtainedsimultaneously. An exemplary aspect is shown in in table 500 in FIG. 5A,where the maximum transmission bandwidth can be obtained or mapped fromthe maximum channel bandwidth or directly mapped from the candidate SCSset. For one SCS, if the number of RB corresponding to the maximumchannel bandwidth of this carrier is larger than the maximumtransmission bandwidth, the location of RB can be configurable, wherethe transmission bandwidth and its location can be configured in termsof number of RBs and a reference point, e.g., a center frequency of acarrier frequency band.

FIG. 5B is a table 510 that shows an example aspect of mapping maximumchannel bandwidth and maximum transmission bandwidth from basic SCS.

FIG. 6A gives an exemplary table 600 for SCS and associated relationshipwith channel bandwidth based on maximum FFT size, where the maximum FFTsize is 4096 but same rule applies also to high FFT size. With the tablein FIG. 6A, given SCS and maximum FFT size, one transceiver can directlyobtain the channel bandwidth. One benefit with such mapping is thecapability of keeping sampling rate scalable with SCSs for differentchannel bandwidth for a given maximum FFT size.

Accordingly, it is feasible that the channel bandwidth (or range) ismapped from SCS set based on either sampling rate or maximum FFT size.

Alternatively, in other aspects, it is also feasible to choose onechannel bandwidth for each SCS set, where the same sampling rate can bemaintained over different SCS options in each SCS set.

FIG. 6B gives an exemplary table 610 for system channel bandwidth (i.e.,sub-bands from a maximum channel bandwidth such as 400 MHz), the usablechannel bandwidth in a practical system, and associated relationshipwith usable SCS set, which may be a subset of the SCS set for obtainingthe maximum channel bandwidth and maximum transmission bandwidth (i.e.,in which the guide bands are excluded from the maximum channelbandwidth, if any). Data or control signaling can be transmitted withthe usable SCS set in a practical system. With an available systemchannel bandwidth, it is possible to obtain candidate usable SCS setdirectly from the table given in FIG. 6B. In present system withmultiple usable SCS, up to 8 SCS types can be supported. Hence 3 bitsare needed for each usable SCS, that requires three bits to indicate anyof the SCS types. To reduce indication overhead, the association of asubset of SCSs with one system channel bandwidth makes it possible tosave the signaling overhead for indicating a usable SCS associated withone system bandwidth; for example, two types of SCSs (60 KHz and 120KHz) are associated with 100 MHz system bandwidth, where one bit can beused to indicate a specific SCS in the parameter configuration.

The configuration of one or more channel bandwidths and/or subcarrierspacing options to one or more UEs can be performed by differentschemes, for example, broadcast, multicast, and/or unicast channel; orsemi-static (RRC signaling or with a MAC CE), dynamic signaling (e.g.,L1 or DCI signaling) and/or a DL control channel such as group commonPDCCH.

One aspect is that the system bandwidths employed in a network can havea characteristics of scalability among a set of system bandwidths usedin the network, where the scalability factor can be a positive integer.For example, the scalability factor can be 2^(n) with n being aninteger; a set of system bandwidths can consist of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80MHz, 160 MHz and 320 MHz, with a scalability factor of 2 from 20 MHz,which is shown in FIG. 6C. While the system channel bandwidths areinteger multiple related, for each system channel bandwidth, each usablesubcarrier spacing set is configured to be associated with FFT sizes ina way such that the same sampling rate can be maintained over differentusable SCS options; for example, for the system bandwidth of 80 MHz, itsassociated SCS set is configured as 30 KHz, 60 KHz and 120 KHz, with FFTsizes of 4096, 2048, and 1024, respectively, which corresponds to a samesampling rate of 122.88 MHz. These characteristics are shown in table620 in FIG. 6C.

The configuration of the system bandwidth(s), SCS(s) and the FFT size(s)to one or more UEs can be performed by different schemes, for example,broadcast, multicast, and/or uni-cast channel; or semi-static (RRCsignaling or with a MAC CE) and/or dynamic signaling (e.g., L1 or DCIsignaling).

In other aspects, at least for single numerology case, candidates of themaximum number of subcarriers per NR carrier is 3300 or 6600. For agiven carrier bandwidth B and with one single numerology to be used, itsSCS fm, chosen from a set of SCSs (e.g. 15, 30, 60, 120 kHz, etc.)scalable with LTE 15 kHz, requires to satisfy the conditions: fm*3300(or fm*6600)<B. On the other hand, for a given subcarrier spacing fn,the supported carrier bandwidth, Bn, for a NR carrier can be determinedby the relationship: Bn=fn*(3300+a set of guard subcarriers); orBn=fn*(6600+a set of guard subcarriers), where the set of guardsubcarriers are determined by factors such as the filtering waveformcharacteristics and DC subcarrier component, etc.; for example the setsize can be 10% of Bn. Some aspect examples are given in table 630 inFIG. 6D. Note for the figure: 1) Option 1 and Option2 are based ondifferent guard band factors, e.g., Option 2 assumes 10% guard band likeLTE; other options with different guard bands (including zero guardband) are also possible. 2) the bandwidth beyond 400 MHz is not listed,as by standards, the maximum channel bandwidth supported per NR carrieris 400 MHz. In FIG. 6D, the ‘-’ indicates this combination is notsupported.

In another aspect, for mixed numerology cases, if the maximum number ofsubcarriers per NR carrier is 3300, and the multiplication of thesubcarrier spacing fo and 3300 is not larger than the scalable carrierbandwidth, then fo and fo*2{circumflex over ( )}N (N>0) could be used asthe SCS for the scalable carrier band. This can be interpreted as thefollowing: for a given carrier bandwidth, B1, and a set of SCSsassociated with the carrier frequency band(s), the lowest SCS, fo, inthe SCS set will satisfy the condition: fo*3300<B1, then the associatedSCSs can be scalable up with fo, i.e., fo*2{circumflex over ( )}N (N>0).For example, if a carrier bandwidth is 50 MHz, the fo can be 15 kHz, andother SCSs applicable to the associated frequency carrier band(s) can bescalable up with 15 kHz. If the maximum number of subcarriers per NRcarrier is 6600, the above statement is also true, but should beassociated with fo*6600<B2, where B2 is a given carrier bandwidth.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method 700 fornumerology determination for wireless communication systems. The method700 begins at block 702 where the network component acquires a candidatesubcarrier spacing set. The subcarrier spacing set may be acquired asdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C. At block 704, the networkcomponent determines a maximum channel bandwidth or maximum transmissionbandwidth according to the number of subcarriers used, the number ofresource blocks used, and/or the guide band in the channel bandwidth. Atblock 706, the network component determines a basic subcarrier spacingin the candidate subcarrier spacing set. The basic subcarrier spacingmay be determined as described above with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing system 800 that may be used forimplementing the devices and methods disclosed herein. For example, thecomputing system can be any entity of UE, AN, MM, SM, UPGW, AS, BS,eNodeB, transmit-receive point (TRP), etc. Specific devices may utilizeall of the components shown or only a subset of the components, andlevels of integration may vary from device to device. Furthermore, adevice may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multipleprocessing units, processors, memories, transmitters, receivers, etc.Such device can be can be any entity of UE, AN, MM, SM, UPGW, AS, BS,eNodeB, TRP (transmit-receive point), etc. The computing system 800includes a processing unit 802. The processing unit includes a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 814, memory 808, and may further include a massstorage device 804, a video adapter 810, and an I/O interface 812connected to a bus 820.

The bus 820 may be one or more of any type of several bus architecturesincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, or avideo bus. The CPU 814 may comprise any type of electronic dataprocessor. The memory 808 may comprise any type of non-transitory systemmemory such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random accessmemory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or acombination thereof. In an aspect, the memory 808 may include ROM foruse at boot-up, and DRAM for program and data storage for use whileexecuting programs.

The mass storage 804 may comprise any type of non-transitory storagedevice configured to store data, programs, and other information and tomake the data, programs, and other information accessible via the bus820. The mass storage 804 may comprise, for example, one or more of asolid state drive, hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, or an opticaldisk drive.

The video adapter 810 and the I/O interface 812 provide interfaces tocouple external input and output devices to the processing unit 802. Asillustrated, examples of input and output devices include a display 818coupled to the video adapter 810 and a mouse/keyboard/printer 816coupled to the I/O interface 812. Other devices may be coupled to theprocessing unit 802, and additional or fewer interface cards may beutilized. For example, a serial interface such as Universal Serial Bus(USB) (not shown) may be used to provide an interface for an externaldevice.

The processing unit 802 also includes one or more network interfaces806, which may comprise wired links, such as an Ethernet cable, and/orwireless links to access nodes or different networks. The networkinterfaces 806 allow the processing unit 802 to communicate with remoteunits via the networks. For example, the network interfaces 806 mayprovide wireless communication via one or more transmitters/transmitantennas and one or more receivers/receive antennas. In an aspect, theprocessing unit 802 is coupled to a local-area network 822 or awide-area network for data processing and communications with remotedevices, such as other processing units, the Internet, or remote storagefacilities.

FIG. 9 gives an exemplary device to implement the previous aspect. Adevice 900 includes an acquiring module 910 and a determining module920. The acquiring module 910 is applied to acquire the SCS set orsystem bandwidth. The determining module 920 is applied to determine themaximum channel bandwidth and/or the maximum transmission bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a method to determine a system numerology includesacquiring, by a computing system, a candidate subcarrier spacing set.The method also includes determining, by the computing system, a maximumchannel bandwidth or a maximum transmission bandwidth.

In an aspect, the method further includes, before the determining themaximum channel bandwidth or the maximum transmission bandwidth,determining, by the computing system, a basic subcarrier spacing in thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an aspect, the maximum transmission bandwidth is determined, by thecomputing system, in accordance with the maximum channel bandwidth.

In an aspect, the maximum channel bandwidth is determined, by thecomputing system, in accordance with a maximum fast Fourier transform(FFT) size.

In an aspect, the method further includes acquiring, by the computingsystem, a usable subcarrier spacing set from the subcarrier spacing setin accordance with a system channel bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a wireless device for encoding data with a polar codeincludes a processor and a computer readable storage medium. Thecomputer readable storage medium stores programming for execution by theprocessor. The programming includes instructions for acquiring acandidate subcarrier spacing set. The programming also includesinstructions for determining a maximum channel bandwidth or a maximumtransmission bandwidth.

In an aspect, the programming further includes instructions for, beforethe determining the maximum channel bandwidth or the maximumtransmission bandwidth, determining a basic subcarrier spacing in thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In an aspect, the maximum transmission bandwidth is determined inaccordance with the maximum channel bandwidth.

In an aspect, the maximum channel bandwidth is determined in accordancewith a maximum fast Fourier transform (FFT) size.

In an aspect, the programming further comprising instructions foracquiring a usable subcarrier spacing set from the candidate subcarrierspacing set in accordance with a system channel bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a method includes providing an OFDM numerology schemein a communications system permitting one or more of multiple subcarrierspacing options, multiple transmission TTI options, multiple CP options,multiple carrier bandwidth options, or multiple FFT sizes.

In an embodiment, a communications device includes a non-transitorymemory storage comprising instructions and one or more processors incommunication with the memory. The one or more processors execute theinstructions for providing an OFDM numerology scheme in a communicationssystem permitting one or more of multiple subcarrier spacing options,multiple transmission TTI options, multiple CP options, multiple carrierbandwidth options, or multiple FFT sizes.

In an embodiment, a method in a network component to determine a systemnumerology includes acquiring, by the network component, a candidatesubcarrier spacing set. The method also includes determining, by thenetwork component, a maximum channel bandwidth or a maximum transmissionbandwidth.

In an embodiment, a wireless device for encoding data with a polar codea processor and a computer readable storage medium storing programmingfor execution by the processor. The programming includes instructionsfor acquiring a candidate subcarrier spacing set. The programming alsoincludes instructions for determining a maximum channel bandwidth or amaximum transmission bandwidth.

In an embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer instructions for instructing a wireless device to encode datawith a polar code is provided. When executed by one or more processors,programming cause the one or more processors to perform acquiring acandidate subcarrier spacing set. When executed by one or moreprocessors, the programming also cause the one or more processors toperform determining a maximum channel bandwidth or a maximumtransmission bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the method includes, before determining themaximum channel bandwidth or the maximum transmission bandwidth,determining, by the network component, a basic subcarrier spacing in thecandidate subcarrier spacing set.

In one or more aspects, the maximum transmission bandwidth isdetermined, by the network component, in accordance with the maximumchannel bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the maximum channel bandwidth is determined, bythe network component, in accordance with a maximum fast Fouriertransform (FFT) size.

In one or more aspects, the method further includes acquiring, by thenetwork component, a usable subcarrier spacing set from the subcarrierspacing set in accordance with a system channel bandwidth.

In one or more aspects, the transmission bandwidth location in thechannel bandwidth is determined according to a number of resource blocks(RBs) and a reference point, where the reference point can be a centerfrequency of a carrier or the location of a guide band in the channelbandwidth.

In one or more aspects, each usable subcarrier spacing set is associatedwith FFT sizes such that a same sampling rate is maintained overdifferent usable scalable subcarrier spacing (SCS) options.

It should be appreciated that one or more steps of the embodimentmethods provided herein may be performed by corresponding units ormodules. For example, a signal may be transmitted by a transmitting unitor a transmitting module. A signal may be received by a receiving unitor a receiving module. A signal may be processed by a processing unit ora processing module. Other steps may be performed by a determiningunit/module for determining one or more subcarrier spacing options froma candidate subcarrier spacing set that is associated with a carrierfrequency band, determining one or more channel bandwidths selected froma set of channel bandwidths, or determining a basic subcarrier spacingin the candidate subcarrier spacing set and an acquiring unit/module foracquiring a usable subcarrier spacing set from the subcarrier spacingset in accordance with a carrier frequency band. The respectiveunits/modules may be hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Forinstance, one or more of the units/modules may be an integrated circuit,such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs).

The previous description of some embodiments is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use an apparatus, method, orprocessor readable medium according to the present disclosure. Variousmodifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles of the methods anddevices described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Thus, thepresent disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodimentsshown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by an apparatus,a signal indicating one or more subcarrier spacing options from a firstcandidate subcarrier spacing set of multiple candidate subcarrierspacing sets, wherein each candidate subcarrier spacing set of themultiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets is associated with a carrierfrequency band and a maximum channel bandwidth, and wherein the firstcandidate subcarrier spacing set comprises subcarrier spacings of 30 kHzand 60 kHz, and the first candidate subcarrier spacing set is associatedwith a carrier frequency band sub 6 GHz and a maximum channel bandwidthof 100 MHz.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple candidatesubcarrier spacing sets comprise a second candidate subcarrier spacingset, the second candidate subcarrier spacing set comprising subcarrierspacings of 60 kHz and 120 kHz, and wherein the second candidatesubcarrier spacing set is associated with a carrier frequency band above6 GHz and a maximum channel bandwidth of 400 MHz.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiplecandidate subcarrier spacing sets comprises a usable subcarrier spacingsubset from the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiplecandidate subcarrier spacing sets, and the usable subcarrier spacingsubset is associated with the carrier frequency band and a systemchannel bandwidth.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the usablesubcarrier spacing subset is associated with fast Fourier transform(FFT) sizes such that a same sampling rate is maintained over differentusable subcarrier spacing options applicable to the system channelbandwidth.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the maximum channelbandwidth is determined in accordance with a maximum FFT size for asubcarrier spacing.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving thesignal comprises one of: receiving semi-static signaling, receivingdynamic signaling, receiving a radio resource control (RRC) signal,receiving a layer 1 (L1) signal, receiving a broadcast message,receiving a multi-cast message, or receiving a uni-cast message.
 7. Anapparatus comprising: a processor; and a computer readable storagemedium storing programming for execution by the processor, theprogramming including instructions to: receive a signal indicating oneor more subcarrier spacing options from a first candidate subcarrierspacing set of multiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets, wherein eachcandidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidate subcarrierspacing sets is associated with a carrier frequency band and a maximumchannel bandwidth, and wherein the first candidate subcarrier spacingset comprises subcarrier spacings of 30 kHz and 60 kHz, and the firstcandidate subcarrier spacing set is associated with a carrier frequencyband sub 6 GHz and a maximum channel bandwidth of 100 MHz.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the multiple candidate subcarrier spacingsets comprise a second candidate subcarrier spacing set, the secondcandidate subcarrier spacing set comprising subcarrier spacings of 60kHz and 120 kHz, and wherein the second candidate subcarrier spacing setis associated with a carrier frequency band above 6 GHz and a maximumchannel bandwidth of 400 MHz.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein theeach candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidatesubcarrier spacing sets comprises a usable subcarrier spacing subsetfrom the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidatesubcarrier spacing sets, and the usable subcarrier spacing subset isassociated with the carrier frequency band and a system channelbandwidth.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the usable subcarrierspacing subset is associated with fast Fourier transform (FFT) sizessuch that a same sampling rate is maintained over different usablesubcarrier spacing options applicable to the system channel bandwidth.11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the maximum channel bandwidth isdetermined in accordance with a maximum FFT size for a subcarrierspacing.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the instructions toreceive the signal include instructions to perform one of: receivingsemi-static signaling, receiving dynamic signaling, receiving a radioresource control (RRC) signal, receiving a layer 1 (L1) signal,receiving a broadcast message, receiving a multi-cast message, orreceiving a uni-cast message.
 13. A method comprising: transmitting, bya network component to a user equipment (UE), a signal indicating one ormore subcarrier spacing options from a first candidate subcarrierspacing set of multiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets, wherein eachcandidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidate subcarrierspacing sets is associated with a carrier frequency band and a maximumchannel bandwidth, and wherein the first candidate subcarrier spacingset comprises subcarrier spacings of 30 kHz and 60 kHz, and the firstcandidate subcarrier spacing set is associated with a carrier frequencyband sub 6 GHz and a maximum channel bandwidth of 100 MHz.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the multiple candidate subcarrier spacingsets comprise a second candidate subcarrier spacing set, the secondcandidate subcarrier spacing set comprising subcarrier spacings of 60kHz and 120 kHz, and wherein the second candidate subcarrier spacing setis associated with a carrier frequency band above 6 GHz and a maximumchannel bandwidth of 400 MHz.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein theeach candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidatesubcarrier spacing sets comprises a usable subcarrier spacing subsetfrom the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidatesubcarrier spacing sets, and the usable subcarrier spacing subset isassociated with the carrier frequency band and a system channelbandwidth.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the usable subcarrierspacing subset is associated with fast Fourier transform (FFT) sizessuch that a same sampling rate is maintained over different usablesubcarrier spacing options applicable to the system channel bandwidth.17. The method of claim 13, wherein the maximum channel bandwidth isdetermined by the network component in accordance with a maximum FFTsize for a subcarrier spacing.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein thetransmitting the signal comprises one of: transmitting semi-staticsignaling, transmitting dynamic signaling, transmitting a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signal, transmitting a layer 1 (L1) signal, transmitting abroadcast message, transmitting a multi-cast message, or transmitting auni-cast message.
 19. A network component to determine system numerologyand channel bandwidth, the network component comprising: a processor;and a computer readable storage medium storing programming for executionby the processor, the programming including instructions to: transmit,to a user equipment (UE), a signal indicating one or more subcarrierspacing options from a first candidate subcarrier spacing set ofmultiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets, wherein each candidatesubcarrier spacing set of the multiple candidate subcarrier spacing setsis associated with a carrier frequency band and a maximum channelbandwidth, and wherein the first candidate subcarrier spacing setcomprises subcarrier spacings of 30 kHz and 60 kHz, and the firstcandidate subcarrier spacing set is associated with a carrier frequencyband sub 6 GHz and a maximum channel bandwidth of 100 MHz.
 20. Thenetwork component of claim 19, wherein the multiple candidate subcarrierspacing sets comprise a second candidate subcarrier spacing set, thesecond candidate subcarrier spacing set comprising subcarrier spacingsof 60 kHz and 120 kHz, and wherein the second candidate subcarrierspacing set is associated with a carrier frequency band above 6 GHz anda maximum channel bandwidth of 400 MHz.
 21. The network component ofclaim 19, wherein the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of themultiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets comprises a usable subcarrierspacing subset from the each candidate subcarrier spacing set of themultiple candidate subcarrier spacing sets, and the usable subcarrierspacing subset is associated with the carrier frequency band and asystem channel bandwidth.
 22. The network component of claim 21, whereinthe usable subcarrier spacing subset is associated with fast Fouriertransform (FFT) sizes such that a same sampling rate is maintained overdifferent usable subcarrier spacing options applicable to the systemchannel bandwidth.
 23. The network component of claim 19, wherein themaximum channel bandwidth is determined by the network component inaccordance with a maximum FFT size for a subcarrier spacing.
 24. Thenetwork component of claim 19, wherein the instructions to transmit thesignal include instructions to perform one of: transmitting semi-staticsignaling, transmitting dynamic signaling, transmitting a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) signal, transmitting a layer 1 (L1) signal, transmitting abroadcast message, transmitting a multi-cast message, or transmitting auni-cast message.